The nation’s first imported case of measles this year was confirmed last week — a man in his 30s living in northern Taiwan who visited Thailand from March 17 to 22, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
The man developed a fever on Monday last week and rashes on Wednesday last week.
During those three days, he visited Yilan and Hualien, and was hospitalized after being diagnosed with measles, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
It is the second case of measles since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, Guo said.
Before the pandemic, 141 cases were reported in 2019 — 82 local and 59 imported cases, he said, adding that most of the imported cases were from Southeast Asian countries.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease, and common symptoms include fever, runny nose, rashes, conjunctivitis and coughing, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
Young children, adults, pregnant women and people with compromised immunity are at higher risk for severe complications from measles, he said.
About 5 to 10 percent of people with measles might develop complications such as middle ear infection, encephalitis or pneumonia.
Preventive measures against measles include wearing a mask, washing hands frequently with soap or getting a measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine, Lin said.
As more people travel to Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand for the Songkran Festival this month, they are advised to take preventive measures against common communicable diseases, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.
To avoid contracting mosquito-borne diseases — such as dengue, Chikungunya and Zika fevers — people should use insect repellent, wear light-colored clothes and minimize skin exposure, said Peng Jen-kuei (彭仁奎), executive director of the CDC and National Taiwan University Hospital’s New Southbound Health Center.
Preventive measures against hepatitis A and other intestinal infectious diseases include avoiding raw food, especially seafood, and frequently washing hands with soap, he said.
To minimize risk of catching mpox, people should avoid intimate contact with strangers or exposure to animals, he said.
People can consult doctors at the New Southbound Health Center about getting a pre-exposure prophylaxis vaccine against hepatitis A or mpox before traveling, he added.
The CDC yesterday reported two new local cases of mpox and eight cases of serious influenza complications.
The two local mpox cases were a man in his 30s living in northern Taiwan and a man in his 20s residing in southern Taiwan, who developed symptoms between March 30 and Tuesday last week, and were diagnosed with mpox on Friday last week and Monday, Guo said.
As of press time last night, the two men were still in hospital for treatment, Guo said, adding that 25 cases — 18 local and seven imported — have been reported since June last year.
The 23 other cases have recovered, Lo said.
Lo also provided an update on the second round of online registration for pre-exposure mpox vaccine, which was opened to the public from 2pm on Monday.
As of 12 noon yesterday, 18,170 — or more than 60 percent of the available slots — were taken, he said.
Meanwhile, of the respiratory viruses identified at contracted laboratories in the past four weeks, flu viruses accounted for most of the circulating viruses at 42.7 percent, followed by adenoviruses at 30.5 percent, he said, adding that clinical visits for flu-like illnesses remained high last week at 45,899.
Eight new cases of serious flu complications were confirmed last week, including six people who had the influenza A(H3N2) virus and two with the influenza A(H1N1) virus, Guo said.
Three flu-related deaths were also confirmed last week, all of whom had the influenza A(H3N2) virus.
Seventy-eight serious flu complications, including 17 deaths, were reported this flu season, starting on Oct. 1 last year, he said, adding that 91 percent of the people who developed severe symptoms and 88 percent of the people who died had not been vaccinated this flu season.
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